Deer Park Monastery

Deer Park Monastery is a 400 acre Buddhist sanctuary in Escondido, California. It was founded in July 2000 by monastic and lay practioners from Plum Village in France.

The monastery is under the direction of the Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of InterBeing in the Vietnamese Zen tradition. Deer Park follows the same practices and schedule as Plum Village and its sister monasteries Maple Forest Monastery and Green Mountain Dharma Center in Vermont.

Since its founding the monastery has grown to be very active. Deer Park hosts an annual retreat when Thich Nhat Hanh travels to North America. Over the years several people have taken novice vows and members of the other monasteries have moved to Deer Park so the ordained sangha has been growing. Lay practitioners also live at the monastery.

The monastery is now composed of two hamlets; Solidity Hamlet for monks and laymen and Clarity Hamlet for nuns and laywomen.